UNESCAP Publications on Human Settlements (before 2003)

Proceedings of the Workshop on the Establishment of the Network of Local Government Training and Research Institutes, 2-5 March 1999, Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand. PublicationsResources/huset2003/logotri/logotri_index.asp
ESCAP, 1999.
Provides an overview of the proceedings of the Workshop, its objectives, as well as, the rationale behind the need for a Network of Local Government Training and Research Institutes (LOGOTRI). Attached annexes contain LOGOTRI's charter, issue papers presented at the Workshop, LOGOTRI's programme strategies, background information on the Virtual Policy Studio (an Internet-based capacity building tool LOGOTRI will use for some of its training activities), institutional and operational modalities of LOGOTRI and some profiles of LOGOTRI's member institutes.

Local Government in Asia and the Pacific - A Comparative Analysis of Fifteen Countries. PublicationsResources/huset2003/lgstudy/lgstudy_index.asp
ESCAP, IUALA-ASPAC, KLAFIR, 1999.
Describes and analyses the local government system reforms aimed at decentralizing and devolving government functions to the local level that many of the countries of the region are currently undertaking. Findings of the country reports (Australia, Bangladesh, China, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Republic of Korea and Thailand) are centered around four main themes: backgrounds of local government, issues for local self-government, local capacity and agenda for further action. An annex contains the draft world charter for local self-government.

Environmental Protection and Urban Planning in Small Towns - A Case Study of the Integrated Action Planning Approach in Nepal.
ESCAP, 1997.
Provides a descriptive analysis of the Integrated Action Planning (IAP) approach. IAP incorporates community participation in planning and development and assists small municipalities in preparing four year investment plans based on their own resources, that of the communities and the expected resources which national government departments and agencies have marked for their towns. Areas of concern include applications and characteristics of IAP, different steps and major outputs of IAP, physical and environmental development plan (scope, content, preparation and implementation), multi sector investment programme (objectives, financial resource analysis, project formulation and programming) and institutionalization of IAP.

Profiles of Women in Local Government. ProjectActivities/Prior2003/WomenMayors/profiles/profiles_index.asp
ESCAP, 1997.
Documents cases of seven women in the Asia-Pacific region who have actively participated in local politics and have occupied positions of power within their local governments. Each of these women had to deal with a different set of political, economic, social and cultural conditions prevalent in their respective cities and countries (Christchurch and Wellington in New Zealand, Olangapo in Philippines, Nong Khai in Thailand, Guntur in India, Colombo and Kandy in Sri Lanka).

Report of the Regional Workshop on Women in Urban Local Governments in South Asia, Allahabad, India. ProjectActivities/Ongoing/WomenUrLocGovt/ReportAllahabad.pdf (PDF format, 372 KB)
ESCAP, 1997.
Summarizes the proceedings of the workshop and introduces several cross-cutting issues such as women's role in the formal political and more informal civil society sphere, the relation between local authorities and civil society, the effective use of information and the role of ESCAP and other agencies in promoting the representation and participation of women in local governments. Recommendations for future actions are also presented. These include creating a platform for promoting understanding of women issues in local government, joint forums, cross party coalitions, a positive 'political' image of women, civic engagement and women's collectives, lobbying to recruit women in local politics, continuing gender sensitization and training for local authorities to bring about fundamental changes in local government structures and processes.

Urban Community-Based Savings-and-Credit Systems in Cambodia, Lao People's Democratic Republic and Viet Nam.
(Acrobat (PDF) format, 617 KB)
ESCAP, 1997.
Describes key issues regarding urban community-based savings and credit initiatives in Asia such as ways to expand savings and credit, initiating and developing savings and credit schemes, credit and loans, interest rates and repayment, organization and management, relationship with different actors and training and exchange programmes. The case studies of Cambodia, LAO PDR and Viet Nam document the mechanisms of existing initiatives in these countries and present a comparative analysis of savings and credit as a regional trend.

Urban Land Policies for the Uninitiated.
PublicationsResources/huset2003/land_policies/land_policies_index.asp
ESCAP, 1997.
This publication is meant for administrators and decision-makers that are no expert in urban land management. It focuses on concepts and issues in urban land and on possible policy tools to address these issues. A special emphasis is placed on increasing the access of the poor to the formal land and housing markets. It explains concepts and terminologies such as, land markets in the urban economy, political aspects of land development and management, land development and poverty alleviation, land tenure, land speculation and land registration, planning tools, legislative and fiscal tools, slums, squatter settlements, illegal subdivisions, increasing supply of and effective demand for land for the poor, objectives of urban land policies.

Effective Participatory Urban Management - Proceedings of the Regional Policy Seminar on Effective Participatory Urban Management, Shanghai, 7-9 November 1996.
CITYNET, ESCAP, UMPA, PGSM, 1997.
A practical guide for planning and preparation of participatory urban policies, including an overview paper on strategic urban management, issue papers and best practice case studies submitted by participants, as well as, the elements of action plans on effective participatory urban management produced by them. Besides these, participatory approaches to urban management and integrating techniques of visioning, situation analysis, planning, resource mobilization, implementation and performance improvement are introduced together with specific examples of partnerships for urban development.

Guidelines on the Participatory Approach to Urban Environmental Management.
CITYNET, ESCAP, 1996
Provides guidelines on disposal of solid wastes through affordable and environmentally sound means, based on current thinking and latest practices in composting within the Western European context that could be considered as a mirror or sounding board for local practices. Since the guidelines follow the sequence of actions involved in the factual realization of a composting or fermentation plant and of a landfill, guiding frameworks such as waste policy, legislation and Environmental Impact Assessment are also included.

Report and Proceedings of the Bandung Regional Policy Workshop on Municipal Revenue Enhancing Strategies.
PublicationsResources/huset2003/Bandung/bandung.pdf (PDF format, 685 KB)
CITYNET, ESCAP, 1996.
Provides an overview of problems and concerns of revenue enhancing strategies by looking at the different sources of revenue, in particular property taxation and non-land-based revenue potentials, as well as, inter-governmental transfers. It also includes recommendations on developing a better understanding of the different aspects of municipal finance and ways and means of enhancing revenue generation. Attached annexes contain selected workshop papers on municipal finance, the non-land component of municipal revenues, land-based revenues, privatization of urban infrastructure and services and external sources of revenue. It also includes case studies on the financial situation of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, the Colombo Municipal Council and the Dhaka City Corporation, as well as, the mobilization of municipal finance in India and Kuala Lumpur.

Urban Forums - Report and Proceedings of the Workshop on the Use of Urban Forums as Consultative Mechanisms for Urban Planning and Policy Making, Bangkok, 19-21 September 1995
ESCAP, 1996.
Documents city and country presentations on the concept of urban forums (CIVIC Bangalore, Urban Resource Center Karachi, Bangkok Forum, Dhaka Urban Forum and Nepal National Urban Forum), as well as, discussions and conclusions of the workshop. These relate to increasing access to information, the relationship with the media, sustainable finance mechanisms, maintaining an effective level of voluntary human resources contributions, roles and aims of urban forums, increasing the number of urban forums in different countries, networking among urban forums and assistance from international organizations and programmes.

Living in Asian Cities, The Impending Crisis - Causes, Consequences and Alternatives for the Future: Report of the Second Asia-Pacific Urban Forum.
ESCAP, UNCHS, UNDP, 1996.
The publication comprises four papers written by Professor Patrick Wakely, Mr. Kirtee Shah and Mr. Arif Hasan, Mr. Adnan Aliani that set the stage for discussions during the Second Asia-Pacific Urban Forum. It highlights cross-cutting issues such as: global trade agreements, economic reforms and their impact on cities, governance and institutional reform, empowering the poor, cities in transition economies, cities as the engines of economic growth, civic engagement and the role of the media, urban transport and communications, women in cities, improving urban research, education and training, urban finance, emerging technologies and their impact on cities, urban physical and social space, children in cities and housing and urban indicators. Summaries of four sub-regional urban forums are presented as well. Urban activities of a number of international agencies (ACHR, ADB, CITYNET, UMP, UNCRD, UNEP, UNESCO and Healthy Cities Programme) are also included.

Directory of Human Settlements Research and Training Institutes in Asia and the Pacific - Second Edition.
ESCAP, 1995.
Contains profiles of 78 research and training institutes from 19 countries worldwide. The directory is based on a questionnaire developed by ESCAP and includes a subject index ranging from 'Aboriginal Settlement' to 'Women in Development'. Institutes are sorted alphabetically and grouped according to the country where they are located, e.g. Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, People's Republic of China, Fiji, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand, United Kingdom and United States of America.

Report and Proceedings of the ESCAP/CITYNET High-Level Policy Seminar on Shelter for the Urban Poor - Interface between Governmental and Non-Govermental Sectors.
CITYNET, ESCAP, 1994.
Documents the various collaborative mechanisms for institutionalizing local government and NGO-CBO partnership in addressing the urban shelter issue, as well as, the constraints and opportunities encountered. Besides these, follow-up actions to be undertaken by local governments, NGOs and CBOs, as well as, suggested types of assistance CITYNET and other organizations can provide in facilitating the provision of shelter for the urban poor are included. Attached annexes contain issue papers on the interface between governmental and non-governmental sectors seen from both perspectives, as well as, case studies elaborating on the experiences from Sri Lanka and Thailand with partnerships between the city government, NGOs and communities.

Report and Proceedings of the ESCAP/CITYNET High-Level Policy Seminar on Financial Management of Local Authorities.
CITYNET, ESCAP, 1994.
Documents experiences in land-based and non-land-based municipal revenue systems, as well as, innovative means of generating resources with public participation. Key issues include amongst others: financing urban infrastructure and services and experiences from European cities. Besides, recommendations and follow-up actions to be undertaken by CITYNET, ESCAP and other agencies are presented as well. Attached annexes contain case studies on the municipal finance system of the Dhaka City Corporation, the Capital Development Authority of Islamabad and the Municipal Council of Penang Island.

Urbanization in Asia and the Pacific - Proceedings of the Ministerial Conference on Urbanization in Asia and the Pacific - United Nations ESCAP, Bangkok, 27 October to 2 November 1993.
ESCAP, 1994.
Includes the report of the Ministerial Conference, the Bangkok Declaration on Sustainable Urban Development and Management in Asia and the Pacific and the Regional Action Plan on Urbanization in Asia and the Pacific, as well as, the final reports of the various meetings and the issue papers that served as the basis for the deliberations of the Conference. Attached annexes contain the report of the Preparatory Meeting of Senior Officials, meeting documents, the opening statements and a list of participants.

Proceedings of the ESCAP/CITYNET Regional Seminar-cum-Study Visit on Final Disposal of Solid Wastes.
CITYNET, ESCAP, 1993.
Documents the experiences of different countries of Asia and the Pacific with the various means for disposing solid wastes and presents recommendations for further action. Attached annexes contain case studies on urban refuse management in Wuhan, solid waste management in Chittagong, Khulna and Dhaka, disposal of solid wastes in Colombo, Hanoi, Kandy, Islamabad and Nakhon Ratchasima, the solid waste treatment plant of Songkhla, the state/research of counter-measures of solid waste disposal in Nanchang, the situation of solid waste treatment in Shanghai, the design/research of static high temperature compost treatment, the Jinkou Sanitary Landfill Plant in Wuhan, the experience of landfill operations in Bandung, the solid waste disposal system of Makati, the production amount of industrial solid waste and the state of management in Wuhan and the development of mass campaigns to eradicate pests and preventive diseases in order to achieve hygienic cities.

Building Materials and Construction Technologies for Low-Cost Housing in Developing ESCAP Countries.
ESCAP, 1990.
A collection of leaflets dealing with a wide variety of building materials and technologies designed to assist 'grass-roots technologists' who are actively involved in shelter construction or improvement, either as actual builders or in an advisory or teaching capacity. While efforts have been made to describe and illustrate the technologies in a way to be easily understood by non-professional users, some elementary knowledge of building and construction is required to ensure successful application. The leaflets are meant to introduce promising technologies and present several options for a variety of materials and building components, so that the user can make a suitable choice, depending on the resources available locally.